Poetic Journeys: Mahler, Wagner, Debussy, Rheinberger (Brookline)

This program includes Mahler’s five luscious songs set to texts by German Romantic poet Friedrich Rückert, whose tone of far-reaching journeys of the soul and peaceful resignation is captured and amplified in the music.

Wagner’s symphonic poem, Siegfried Idyll, was a gift to his second wife, Cosima, on their wedding day, and the chamber ensemble that he gathered to play on the steps of his villa Christmas morning was close to today’s mixed ensemble of winds, strings, and harp.

In both works the inherent chamber-like writing is successfully realized in the transparent instrumentation, and hearing the clarity of individual lines can reveal hidden aspects of the score, adding an intimacy in the performing and listening experience. Two other ravishing works bring the season to a close, a nonet by the little-known Rheinberger and the beloved Debussy Dances for harp and strings.

Mahler: Rückert-Lieder (chamber version by David Walter)
Wagner: Siegfried Idyll (chamber version by David Walter)
Debussy: Danse Sacré et Danse Profane for harp and strings
Rheinberger: Nonet for winds and strings in E-flat major, op. 139

This program will also be offered in Andover on Saturday April 6. Click here for information.